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General | Team Reports
1999 Kangaroo Hoppet
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Vitaly Tchernov - Cameron Morton - John Westdal - Jannike Oeyen - Ben Derrick
From Khaberovsk in eastern Siberia, Vitaly Tchernov has now been in Australia four times for the Kangaroo Hoppet. He placed 15th in 1996, 4th in 1997, 3rd in 1998, and now finally he has finished on top of the podium.
Congratulations Vitaly, how does it feel to be the winner of the 1999 Kangaroo Hoppet?
- I am very happy. My first victory in Australia, my dreams have come true. It was very hard and I'm very tired, but I'm very happy. It's my 4th time in Australia now, and I hope to see everyone here again next year.
What are your plans for next season?
- I hope to ski all the Worldloppet races again next season. I was third in the 1999 Worldloppet Cup, and I hope I maybe will be in the first three again next year.
Cameron Morton started training again just over two months ago, with the intention of getting into multi-sport events and to ski the Kangaroo Hoppet along the way. A week and a half ago he placed 2nd in the Australian 10km championship, and now he has followed it up with a 2nd place in the Hoppet.
Second place and first Australian in the Kangaroo Hoppet after only a couple of months of training, Cameron how are you feeling?
- I'm feeling really happy actually. And looking forward to putting a whole year of training together and seeing how things go.
Is this the start of a come-back then?
- I hope this is already a come-back, but I'm not so sure about returning to international cross country competition. I have to think about my career and my family, but, you never know when an Olympic year comes around. Never say never.
What was happening in the lead pack early in the race?
- I was feeling pretty good early on, but you could feel that the little Russian (Vitaly) was itchy to break away. I was trying to chat to him, asking him how he enjoyed Australia, what did he think of the snow, trying to distract him, but he had other intentions and took off up the first big hill.(Note: Ben Derrick commented on this also - he didn't know what Vitaly was thinking but it certainly distracted him)
- When he took off up the Paralyser I couldn't hold on, and from then on I just skied for second spot. Vitaly quickly establishing a lead, but then he didn't really pull away much for the rest of the race. Ben fell away at the same time, so it was a bit of a shame to ski the whole race by myself. I felt the first lap was a real struggle with the snow conditions, very slow, sometimes the poles broke through the surface, you couldn't see anythin except the track in front of you, but the second lap was great. The snow packed down and it became really fast, all up it was a good event. The prize money will go into my kids fund (Cameron is expecting a second child on New Year's Eve.)
How is training going now towards the JLW Buller to Melbourne event? (The JLW is a two day running, cycling and kayaking event in November)
- Well, this was more training today. I have secured a sponsor now for that event, RII Electrics,they are an electrical company in Bayswater. So yeah, I'm looking foward to that, I haven't done a big multi-sport event before. People have been telling me I should have a chance, and I'll be training hard the next few months.
- I'm quite strong in the kayak, I kayak a couple of times per week in a K1, and my weak leg is actually cycling, I don't really cycle that much. But with a couple of months training that should be okay.
Congratulations Cam.
John Westdal is a Canadian living and working in Melbourne. He has been racing this season for the Lake Mountain Ski Team
Congratulations John, you must be pretty happy with third place.
- I must say that I was worried that the pack was going to catch me. On the first lap, it was quite interesting, we were ahead, we were four skiers (Westdal, Curtis, Marsland, Franzke) and then all of a sudden we were 15 skiers. And I thought, when they are all working together we have no hope of staying ahead. Then on the second lap Peter Brennan made a break, and then that Japanese guy went, and I thought I'd better go with them. Then by the top of the Paralyser on the second lap I was leading the group, and then I thought I'd better go as hard as I can or the group is going to catch me again. So then I just skied as hard as I could. I couldn't tell if the group had been broken up behind me, but I was worried they would work together and catch me and I kept looking back, but in the end they never did. Near the end I was quite lucky, just before the dam I fell, but I was so pumped up on adrenaline that I shot back up like a bat out of hell and skied as fast as I could before a skier could come out of the fog and catch me.
Is this your best performance in a ski race?
- This is certainly my best place, I had other races where I've skied better, but yes actually my best race in Australia. And certainly my best Worldloppet result. I'm very happy I must admit.
Norwegian skier Jannike Oeyen travelled over to the Hoppet with the New Zealand junior team. At one stage in the race she was in fourth place overall, and in the end she was the first woman home by over 8 minutes.
Jannike, the word is that you have been doing some coaching in New Zealand before coming here?
- Yes, I've been at the Wanaka Snowfarm since the middle of July. I've been coaching the NZ juniors since I came out and until I go back in the end of September. I'm really enjoying it.
Excuse my ignorance, but are you on the Nowegian National Team?
- I'm on the Norwegian B-Team. This is my second year back after a three year break, but I hope to be on the A-Team afer this season. I had an operation on both my hips, and my back, now that's better and I'm happy to be back.
What has been your best international result to date?
- I think I was 11th place in a World Cup in Ostersund in 1995. That's my best. I also placed 3rd in the Nowergian Birkebeiner in 1995.
Will you be returning to New Zealand next year?
- Yes I hope so, I'm not sure but I hope so. Maybe for not such a long time. If I can come up into the national A-Team, then I have to be more in Norway, but I think I can come down for one month, maybe one and a half months.
Will we see you in the Olympic Games in Salt Lake City in 2002?
- Yes I hope so.That's one of the goals I am training for. The World Championships in Lahti in 2001, and the Olympics in 2002.
Ben Derrick had been on fire this season and came into the Kangaroo Hoppet unbeaten in individual events. Unfortunately he came down sick after the national championships and spent most of the week leading up to the Hoppet in bed. He started fast and stayed with the leaders early on, but in the end he cruised in in 16th place.
Ben, considering your season so far you must be disappointed today.
- It's funny actually, the season went really really well, but one bad race and it happens to be the biggest race of the year. At the moment I would trade in all those earlier races to get on the podium in the Hoppet. It was really disappointing to start slowing down in the race and have all those people come past me, and even though you tell yourself you've been sick and know you're just cruising it's really tough to watch them go. It would have been really nice to go through the season undefeated, but, ahh, you can't race when you're sick.
- Yesterday morning I was thinking of not starting, but then in the afternoon I had a sleep and woke up feeling really good. I thought what the hell, I don't often have a week off, I've been sick but maybe now I'm rested and my body will be able to cope. But I think my body just wasn't switched on at all. Sometimes I'd much rather have a hard week of training before a race than an easy week, I feel it gets my body ready for it.
- I found out pretty early in the race that I was working too hard just to hold onto Cameron and Vitaly along the flat. I hung on until Watchbed Creek. When I dropped off it was more of a conscious decision, I probably could have stayed with them for a little bit longer, but I'd made my mind up that I wasn't feeling good and I thought I'd slow down and see how long I could stay ahead of the chasing pack. Initially I thought oh well, I'll cruise and ski for third, but then I was absoultely gone at the top of the Paralyser, and when the pack caught me I realised it was pointless to push myself, I'd risk getting sick again. In the end it really was very disappointing, not a nice feeling, I probably shouldn't have raced at all.
Where do you go from here?
- Well it's the biggest race of the season next week of course, the Charles Derrick Memorial, I think everyone wants to get their name on the plate. I think because I skied today it might take me another week to really recover, then after the Charles Derrick I might have a couple of easy weeks - I normally do at the end of the season - and then start getting back into serious training. After a month or so of distance work, and a month of speed and strength training, I'll be getting ready to start racing again in December. One of my goals is to get under 50 FIS points (World Cup qualification standard), and I think if I keep on going the way I was skiing before I became sick, it is a realistic goal.
XC is the official website of the Skiing Australia Cross Country Committee. It is produced with the assistance of the Australian Sports Commission, and the Kangaroo Hoppet. The editor can be contacted via hoppet@netc.net.au.